Songcrafters Coloring Book By Bill Pere

Starting The Writing Process

Often, the hardest part of writing a song is coming up with an idea and topic for the song. Sometimes the title for a song may appear, almost from thin air, but more often than not, it can take a lot of time and effort to develop an idea for a song. Most songwriters seem to agree, that in order to be a prolific and successful songwriter, the craft needs to be regularly practised, and in order to practise, one needs to write a lot. Bill Pere, author of the book Songcrafters’ Coloring Book, likens the craft of songwriting to that of being an Olympic athlete; “First, there is a degree of natural ability. One’s inherent talent is an initial building block. However, we can safely say that no contemporary Olympic champion has earned that title solely on natural talent. Second, Olympians get coaching, practice, and feedback, to hone their natural ability to its peak. Third, and most importantly, far outweighing all other factors, they have an internal drive to always – always – strive for their personal best.” (2010, p. 5) Pere argues that in order to achieve success, practice is imperative, as well as an active aim for constant improvement. The importance of practice is undeniable. However, where do writers draw their inspiration from, in order to practice their skill?

Finding Inspiration

There are as many ways of writing songs, as there are songwriters. Most songwriters seem to agree that there is no ‘one set formula’ for writing a song. There are, however, a lot of techniques and

The chosen structure of a song is often determined by the genre in which one is writing, as certain structures are common in some genres more than others. Jason Blume, songwriter, and author of 6 Steps To Songwriting Success, argues that there are only a limited number of song structures commonly heard in hit songs:

1. Verse – Chorus – Verse –